Diff. Lock / 1999 Disco II

[DiscoDaze]

My 1999 Disco II has the center diff. lock but does not have the actuator. Should I bother with this? I have had one instance where I got stuck in very deep ruts with the rear of the truck bottomed out and both rear wheels spinning (under water) with out traction. The front tires were grounded but did not get any power fron the drive train.
Would the diff. lock have sent power to the front wheels in this case?
Not sure if I should install the actuator or let it go. Any ideas?

Thanks,
Discodaze

[Rob P]

The diff lock would have helped. It mechanically locks both front and rear driveshafts together so they rotate at the same time. Very bad for dry pavement and "high" traction surfaces but VERY good for actual four wheeling. With an open center diff and two open axle diffs it is possible to get stuck with only one wheel spinning. All power will go to the wheel that turns easiest. With the center locked it goes to front and rear axles equally and then you'd have at least two wheels spinning. Add some lockers or limited slip diffs in the axles and then you're really gonna go places.

[DiscoDaze]

Thanks for the info. I guess that one will get added to the list.

[Frank84]

Definitely add it. Added it to my dad's DII when I used to use it for wheeling.

What made me spend the money on someone else's car was after a situation where I had to back down a hill without a lockable center diff. With the front wheels unweighted and on slick ground I had no ability to steer the truck around some trees because the brakes would lock up the front tires right away. With the diff lock it would have forced them (even when using the brakes) to turn at the same speed as the rear and i would have maintained some steering ability.